Searching For the Right wards
by NKubie
Summary: What "ward" will make Bella say "Yes?" Inspired by the "Say I Do" contest. Rated M for possible future chapters. A collaboration of short chapters with a central theme.
1. Lightingward

Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer (and Summit…grrrrr), but Lightningward is mine.

A ginormous thank you to my pre-readers, kikki7 and prettyflour! This would still be on my hard drive if it weren't for you! I also want to thank kikki7 and my mom for the beta work. If there are any mistakes still in this chapter, it's not for a lack of their efforts. Mom, I realize you'll probably never read this, but just know that I thank you and love you for all you do and I wouldn't be here without you – literally.

* * *

"Marry me."

"Excuse me?"

"Marry me."

"Who _are _you?"

"Oh, sorry" he says, extending his hand. "I'm Edward Cullen."

She shakes his hand and smiles. "Hi, Edward Cullen. I'm Bella Swan. Nice to meet you. That's quite the pick-up line."

"It wasn't a pick-up line. I meant it. I don't…I mean… Shit, I've never done this before. I'm not usually like this. I'm not spontaneous or impulsive. I'm a bit out of my element, to be honest with you." Edward squirms and looks at Bella sheepishly.

"So what is your element, Edward?"

Edward smiles at hearing Bella say his name. "Hmm. Maybe I should tell you a bit about myself, and then you might get a better understanding as to why this is so out-of-character for me.

I was born here in Chicago to an upper middle class family. I'm not saying that to impress, just to give you some context. My father is a doctor and I followed in his footsteps. Not that it was expected of me, but I truly felt that it was a way for me to give back. My dad is an attending physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and I'm the newest ER attending at Stroger Hospital. I realize it seems like a strange choice, given my background, but I did my residency there and loved the excitement of working at the busiest hospital in Chicago, not to mention helping the people who need it most. My mother is an interior designer, but played piano professionally at the time she met my father. She taught me from the time I was three and I still play now. It's the one thing I do just for me. Along with my parents, we attend fundraisers, the symphony and whatever other events are expected of us. It's kind of what I've always done. Until now."

"What's different about now?"

"I met you."

"And?"

"And, did you ever see _When Harry Met Sally_?'"

"That's quite the non sequitur."

Edward chuckles at the combination of Bella's comment and his own rambling thoughts. "Just bear with me."

"Alright. Yes, I've seen _When Harry Met Sally_. It's a classic. Who hasn't seen it?"

Taking a breath for focus, Edward replies, "Okay, so you know that part at the end of the movie when he says, 'When you know who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start right away,' or something like that?"

"Or something like that," Bella replies with a half-smile.

"Well, yeah. That's where I'm at. I know what I want. Rather, I know _who _I want to spend my life with and I want my new life to start right now. And if I didn't make it clear, that person is you."

"Actually, I think you made it fairly clear when you proposed."

"And if you knew me, you'd know that a) I don't do things like that, and b) I'm very determined; when I know what I want, I work my ass off to get it."

"But I _don't_ know you."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that, but I'm going to rectify the situation as soon as possible. I just want you to know my intentions."

"Which are to marry me."

"Which are to marry you."

"At least we're clear about that," Bella says, chuckling.

"We are. So, can I buy you dinner?"

* * *

And so it begins. This drabblish story was inspired by the "Say I Do" contest, which I was not nearly organized enough to enter. Apparently I'm not good with deadlines if I'm not getting paid to meet them. That said, don't expect regular updates, long chapters or any consistency whatsoever. I'm doing this as inspiration strikes. I expect the chapters to be very short, and there will be a central theme, but that's about as much continuity as I can promise.

Hope you enjoy!


	2. Spectacleward

I still don't own Twilight and I'm no longer holding my breath for that to happen.

* * *

**BELLA, WILL YOU MARRY ME? **

That's what it said on the Jumbotron at the stadium. And then there was a picture of Bella with Edward looking expectantly at her. _Everyone_ at the game was looking expectantly at her. Waiting with baited breath for her answer.

Bella looked up at the screen, all her worst fears about being the center of attention coming to the surface. But with a brave face and a fake smile, Bella turned to Edward and said "Yes."

The crown went wild! The smile that broke out on Edward's face was ear-to-ear. He grabbed Bella and pulled her in for a very enthusiastic kiss.

Edward could hardly contain his happiness and Bella could hardly contain her nerves. By the time they reached Bella's apartment, they were both emotionally exhausted.

Sitting on the loveseat in her living room, Bella turned to face Edward. "Um… we need to talk."

"I know. We have wedding plans to make."

"Yeah, about that…"

They'd only been dating a short time, but Edward could read the concern on Bella's face clear as day. Edward returned her expression with a look of confusion and worry. "About that?"

"Um, yeah. Uh…there isn't going to be a wedding."

"What do you mean there isn't going to be a wedding? You just said yes to my proposal in front of thousands of people! I have witnesses!"

"Of course I said 'yes!' I didn't want to humiliate you in front of all those of people. But the thing is, you really don't know me."

"We'll have a lifetime together to get to know each other. I told you when I met you that I wanted to marry you. I wasn't joking."

"I never said you were. And you've made it abundantly clear since we've been dating for a whole three weeks that those are your intentions. However, if you really knew me, you'd know that asking me to marry you on a giant screen in front of millions of people…"

"Thousands."

"What?"

"Thousands of people, not millions."

"Well, to me it felt like millions. Millions of eyes on me. Millions of people making some sort of judgment about who I am and what I'm going to say. If you really knew me you'd know that what you did is the absolute worst way to ask me. I hate being the center of attention, Edward. I mean _really, really hate it_! And the person that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, _if_ that ever happens, would know that about me. So no. My answer is no. It doesn't mean I don't want to see you anymore, but no, I don't want to marry you."

Bella's body sagged at the release of all the emotional weight she had been carrying.

Edward looked down, taking the information and mulling it over for a while. Finally, he looked up at Bella with a clarity and resolve that scared her a little. "You're right. The person you spend your life with should know that. And I do now. Thank you and I'm so, _so_ sorry that I cornered you and made you feel so uncomfortable. But Bella, I would never intentionally hurt you. I hope you know that. However, you also need to know that I'm not giving up. I will find the right words and the right setting that will get you to say 'Yes.'"

Upon hearing Edward's declarations, Bella couldn't help but feel guilty over her tirade. How could she _not_ be flattered by his determination to win her over?

Bella looked at Edward with shy contrition, gaining courage from the affection in his eyes. "Maybe all we need is time."

"Maybe."

"Maybe you need time to get to know me and I need time to catch up to you," Bella said with a nervous laugh. Even _she_ was caught off guard by her own words as she wasn't prepared for what her heart was guiding her to say. "And I'm glad, Edward."

"About what, Bella?"

"That you're not giving up."

"Not gonna happen," he said with a slight smirk. "Can I kiss you now?"

* * *

**A/N **Many thanks to my pre-readers kikki7 and prettyflour. Without them, you would have really hated Bella. Hopefully you don't now.

And thanks for sticking with me.


	3. Anglerward

Sadly, Twilight is still not mine, but this "ward" is. I'm cool with that. Anglerward was inspired by twilightmandy. Thanks for the idea and your support, sweetie!

* * *

"Oh, I've got one!"

A panicked look suddenly appears on Edward's face. "A what?! Shit!" he shouts as he jumps off the pier and lands in the water with a huge splash. Sloshing his way to the end of Bella's fishing line, Edward pulls it out of the water.

"Edward, what the hell are you doing?" The look on Bella's face is one of pure bewilderment.

Waist deep in water, Edward frantically wrestles with the fish, attempting to retrieve the hook from of its mouth. With a grunt, he forcibly pulls the hook out, along with the entrails and something decidedly shiny. Holding the dead fish in one hand and the end of the line dripping fish guts in the other, Edward looks up at Bella in embarrassment. Dropping the fish and pulling fish intestines away from the hook, he holds up what appears to be a diamond ring. Sighing, Edward seems to come to some sort of unpleasant decision and hangs his head.

"You know what? I'm not even gonna ask. This is _not_ the story I want to tell our children. It's too damn humiliating."

"What's going on, Edward?"

Slowly lifting his head, Edward looks at Bella, a defeated expression in his eyes. "I remembered what you said; that I didn't know you when I asked before. And you were right. I should have made it about you and not what I thought would be cool. So I listened, I really listened. And I thought about this being something that you did with your dad. Something you enjoyed. It's who you are. So I figured what a great way to ask again. But this?" Edward holds out the ring for Bella's inspection. "This is not how it was supposed to go. I just…You know what? Just forget it." Edward shakes his head and again lowers his head – crushed.

"You tied the ring to the lure? How did you even do that without my noticing?"

"I waited for you go to the bathroom. I've been practicing knots for two weeks so that I could tie it on really quickly before you came back. That's why I wanted to fish off a pier instead of a boat. I needed you to leave so I could do this."

"So that's why you kept pushing the beer?"

"Yeah," he says resigned. "And I have to say, you have a really big bladder. Which actually bodes well for future plans, but for this…not so much."

"Did you even have fishing gear before this?"

"Um…no."

"So what you're saying is you bought a ring, bought fishing equipment, practiced tying knots for two weeks and plied me with copious amounts of beer just so you could propose?"

"Well…yeah."

"And after all that, you're not going to ask?"

"Under the circumstances, standing waist deep in a lake holding a ring with blood and fish guts on it, I would have to say no."

"I love you."

"What?"

"I love you. I can't believe you did all this just so you could propose to me in a way that you thought I'd appreciate. I just…love you," Bella states emphatically, smiling ear-to-ear.

"I love you too, Bella. I always have." Edward's grin matches Bella's as he sloshes to the end of the pier.

"I know." She hesitates, "So you're really not gonna ask me?"

"Nope," he says, popping the 'p.'

"At all?"

"Oh. No. I mean, yeah," he quickly corrects himself. "I'm definitely going to ask you again, just not now – I think a minnow is swimming around in my shorts."

* * *

Many thanks to my pre-readers kikki7 and prettyflour. Without them, this might have been a much grosser chapter. As always, thank _you_ for sticking with me!


End file.
